Lunar New Year - 2014

Happy New Year! OK, Happy Lunar New Year! In the Chinese calendar, the longest chronological record in history dating back to 2700 B.C., this year marks the lunar year 4712 -- Year of the Horse. The first day of the lunar year is January 31, 2014. For the Tet Vietnamese New Year it will be the same, Year of the Horse! 

Famous people born in the Year of the Horse include: Katie Holmes, Josh Hartnett, Mena Suvari, Ashton Kutcher, Jerry Seinfeld, Harrison Ford, Oprah Winfrey, John Travolta, Cindy Crawford, Jackie Chan, Denzel Washington, Barbara Streisand, Paul McCartney, Rembrandt, Leonard Bernstein. 

Here are selected local events celebrating the Lunar New Year in Santa Clara and San Francisco counties.

Silicon Valley/San Jose/Santa Clara County:

Saturday, February 8, 12:00-4:00pm - Children's Discovery Museum special programming, 180 Woz Way, San Jose http://www.cdm.org/new#lunar 

Sunday, February 9, 12:00-4:00pm - Children's Discovery Museum special programming, 180 Woz Way, San Jose http://www.cdm.org/new#lunar

Saturday, February 22, 1:00-4:00pm - Chinese New Year Celebration, Santana Row Park, San Jose http://www.santanarow.com/events/chinese-new-year-celebration

San Francisco/San Francisco's Chinatown:

Saturday, January 25, 10:30am, mini procession/ribbon cutting, Chinatown/Grant Avenue

Saturday, January 25, 10:00am-8:00pm, Flower Market Fair, Chinatown/Grant Avenue

Sunday, January 26, 9:00am-6:00pm, Flower Market Fair, Chinatown/Grant Avenue

Friday, January 31, Chinese New Year, Vietnamese Tet
Saturday, February 8, 10:00am-4:00pm - Basketball Jamboree, Betty Ann Ong Recreational Center - San Francisco (www.chineseparade.com/parade_events.asp?pEvent=basketball_jam)

Saturday, February 8, 7:30pm - Miss Chinatown USA Pagent, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco (www.chineseparade.com/pageant.asp)

Sunday, February 9, 8:00am start, registration begins at 7:00am, 36th Annual Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Chinatown YMCA 10K/5K Run/Walk, Chinatown/Sacramento and Grant www.ymcasf.org/Chinatown

This event comprises a 10K or 5K run or walk and raises funds for the YMCA's youth and teen programs. The event expects 2,000 participants and 300 volunteers. For more information or to register, please go to (www.ymcasf.org/Chinatown) or call 415.576.9622

Friday, February 14, 6:00pm-Midnight, Miss Chinatown USA Coronation Ball, San Francisco Hilton and Towers. Tickets: 415-982-3000

Saturday, February 15, 5:15-8:00pm, Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade http://www.chineseparade.com/calendar.asp

San Francisco's Chinese New Year Parade began in 1860 and was named by the IFEA to be one of the top ten parades in the world! It is also one of the few remaining night illuminated parades in the country. Since 1958 the parade has been organized and directed by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Chinese New Year Festival and Parade, Market and Second Streets to Kearney and Jackson. Check out "Gum Lung", the 201-foot-long Golden Dragon! (www.chineseparade.com/)  Can't be there?  Watch or DVR it on KTVU Fox Channel 2 or KTSF Channel 26 (Chinese broadcast) on Saturday, February 15, from 6:00-8:00pm.

Saturday, February 15, 10:00am-4:30pm - Chinatown Community Street Faire, Chinatown - San Francisco (www.chineseparade.com/parade_events.asp?pEvent=community_fair)  

More Than A Hundred Years of the Chinese (Lunar) Calendar (1912 to 2031) --

The Chinese Calendar names each year after an animal and legend has it that a person born under a certain animal will display traits of that animal. I was born in the Year of the Tiger. What sign are you in the Chinese 12-year calendar cycle? Look up in the table below what year you were born and the corresponding animal.

Rat: 1912 1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008 2020

Ox: 1913 1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997 2009 2021

Tiger: 1914 1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998 2010 2022

Rabbit: 1915 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999 2011 2023

Dragon: 1916 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000 2012 2024

Snake: 1917 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001 2013 2025

Horse: 1918 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014 2026

Ram: 1919 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003 2015 2027

Monkey: 1920 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004 2016 2028

Rooster: 1921 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005 2017 2029

Dog: 1922 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006 2018 2030

Boar: 1923 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007 2019 2031

Gung Hey Fat Choy! Happy Year of the Horse!

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới! Happy Tet 2014 - Year of the Horse!

Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Update

As we enter 2014, we found that the inventory of available homes to purchase fell to a record low! Just 523 single family residences were on the market at the New Year. This broke last year’s record low of 585. All the while, the Silicon Valley real estate market continues in its slower pace as it usually does this time of the year. After the holiday season, buyers and sellers start getting back to other matters like resuming their search for a home or thinking of entering the market to sell. There were 55% of the closings in Santa Clara County had a sale price greater than list price — 53% in San Mateo County. This ratio indicates or more accurately infers that there were multiple offers. Historically, the Silicon Valley real estate market shifts more toward a seller’s market after Super Bowl Sunday — the last “holiday” of the season.

Prices, as measured by the median price or the middle transaction, have been choppy to flat with a few exceptions. Santa Clara County median price for a single family residence stood at $775,000 in December, a slight decrease from November. However, San Mateo County turned in an increase to $1,050,000 from $942,000 last month as a higher percentage of higher-priced homes sold. Compared to the prior year levels, the Silicon Valley real estate trends continues to be positive. For instance, Santa Clara County’s median price stood 14.6% higher than in December 2012.

As mentioned above, the percentage of homes sold where sale price was greater than list price continues to drop but is still at a very healthy 55% in Santa Clara County. Highest is the Cupertino and Sunnyvale market area with 76% and lowest is in South County (Morgan Hill to Gilroy) with 22%. For San Mateo County, the overall percentage is 53% with the highest level in the Bay Cities of Belmont, Burlingame, Milbrae, San Carlos and San Mateo with 74%. The lowest percentage of homes that sold above list price is 19% on the San Mateo Coast (Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Moss Beach, Montara).

With an average days of unsold inventory (DUI) at 25, the hottest market area in Santa Clara County is the Los Altos and Palo Alto area with just 10 followed closely by the Cupertino and Sunnyvale market area. Coolest is in the East, Central, South San Jose market area at 32. For San Mateo County with an average DUI of 18, the hottest is the Bay Cities area comprising Belmont, Burlingame, Milbrae, San Carlos and San Mateo with 12 and the coolest is on the San Mateo Coast with 37. Why do I track these? Its important to understand the market dynamics of the supply versus the demand to advise clients on the most appropriate strategy to employ whether to buy or sell.

For questions, comments on the Silicon Valley real estate market or update in your neighborhood or your target area you are considering, please contact me and I’ll personally respond. Thanks for reading!